Electronic pagers are small, lightweight, wireless communication devices for receiving messages. Electronic pagers typically include a radio frequency (RF) receiver, a processor, a user-interface, a non-volatile memory and an operating memory. Two-way pagers, i.e., pagers that can both receive and transmit data, also include a RF transmitter. The processor, which is often a microcontroller or a digital signal processor (DSP), executes program code stored in the non-volatile memory to process information received via the RF receiver and to respond to input from a user via the user-interface. The user-interface typically consists of a small, low-power display to display received messages (e.g., liquid crystal, light-emitting diode, etc.) and one or more buttons to receive user input. The buttons may be used, for example, to scroll the display to view a sequence of messages, to clear messages, to configure the pager, and, in the case of a two-way pager, to send a response to a message.
When first introduced, electronic pagers were used mostly by businesses, for example, to communicate with field sales and service personnel. Since that time, electronic pagers and associated broadcasting services have become much more affordable. As a result, electronic pagers are increasingly being used for more personal purposes, including maintaining contact with family and friends and receiving information from personal service providers. For example, services are available that periodically transmit stock quotes to an electronic pager. Such services can also transmit a notification that a requested transaction has taken place (e.g., sell stock when it reaches 85 and then notify by page). As another example, messages may be e-mailed to a site on the World Wide Web which then broadcasts the messages via a centralized transceiver. This way, an electronic page may be issued by e-mail.
A significant limitation of many modern pagers is that information, once received, cannot be easily communicated to the pager user's computer. For example, suppose that a pager user maintained a database of stock pricing information on a personal computer (e.g., an IBM, IBM compatible, Apple Macintosh, Macintosh compatible computer, etc.). In most cases, the user would be unable to transfer stock pricing information received by the electronic pager to the data base on the personal computer without manual data entry.